Orchids

There were wild orchids growing out of trees and stumps and logs all around us. Some orchids were high up the trunks of trees, others low to the ground. We saw orchids with their roots wrapped tightly around the trunks of trees, as if gripping on against the wind. The Guaranyi people use orchids for their calendar. They know which kinds bloom at which time, and use the bloom seasons to mark their own seasons. The orchid in this photo blooms in our month of September.